Car repair offers in parking lots / outside stores?

This has happened to me in at least 3 states across the US and I'm wondering if its ever happened to you.

I think its a scam but I'm not sure. Here's how it works: First off, you have some visible body damage to your car. You pull into a shopping center or a parking garage, and a car pulls up beside you with a fast-talking guy offering to repair the body damage on your car right then for a cheap price. He makes a really tempting offer and he's got the pitch down perfectly. I've been close to trying it out a number of times.

Sometimes they have the tools in the trunk of their car and will offer to repair it right there in the parking lot while you shop. Other times they say they have a private body shop nearby. Sometimes they say they work from home but their day job is working for a Mercedes / Ford / etc. dealership doing repair work.

Its got to be a scam right? But now that it has happened to me in multiple states, its starting to seem like some sort of organized effort and I'm really curious about its origins / who's behind it. I tried Googling it but didn't find anything. Has this happened to any of you? Have you ever taken them up on the repair offer?

This screams scam. They will take your car and find all kinds of expensive "problems" to fix. How do they want payment? I'm guessing cash, in fact I bet they offer to drive you to the nearest ATM. Or they want credit card details and we all know what happens after that.

If you car has a ding that needs fixing then take to a local bodyshop. Or leave the ding like I do. It adds character to the car.

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Authorities warned the public Friday about an auto-repair scam that has victimized senior citizens in Oceanside over the last several weeks.On three occasions since late last month, unidentified men who appear to be in their 30s have approached older drivers who are stopped at signal lights in the North County city and told them that their vehicles were smoking or on fire, according to police.Offering to "assist" the victims, the crooks got them to open the hoods of their cars. The con men then disconnected equipment to create the illusion of a mechanical problem and convinced the motorists to pay them between $1,000 and $4,000 to make supposed repairs. The swindlers, who sometimes were in the company of a slim young woman, were alternately driving a late-model tan Chevrolet station wagon, a small black vehicle of some type or a fairly new, full-sized white pickup truck.Police asked anyone with information about the crimes to call Detective Roy Monge at 760-435-4931.